Tulo, Fowler to the rescue for Rockies?

Colorado Rockies' Dexter Fowler (24) is congratulated by Troy Tulowitzki (2) after scoring in the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, May 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
— AP

Colorado Rockies' Dexter Fowler (24) is congratulated by Troy Tulowitzki (2) after scoring in the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, May 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
/ AP

The Dodgers kicked off the arms race in the NL West when they took Ricky Nolasco – and the rest of his $11.5 million salary – off the Marlins’ hands late last month.

Whether or not Matt Garza or Jake Peavy head west, the Rockies are confident that they’ve made at least one move to impact the division – and no, we’re not talking about picking up reliever Mitchell Boggs for a draft pick (yes, some of them are now tradeable).

No, the Rockies are talking about adding premier gloves and bats up the middle from the dusty old disabled list. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and center fielder Dexter Fowler both returned to action July 11 after missing extended periods of time and teammates believe that even if the general manager Dan O’Dowd does nothing else, their return will go a long ways toward righting Colorado’s ship.

“Getting Tulo and Dexter back is definitely big,” Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer said in the visiting clubhouse in Petco Park earlier this month. “It’s like getting a couple of All-Stars at the trade deadline. … We’re getting two guys back who are vital, who are huge, two guys that any team would like to get at the trade deadline. And we’re getting them. It’s going to be nice.”

Life without them hasn’t been easy, especially Tulowitzki, the prized 28-year-old franchise player.

He was hitting .347 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs – and the Rockies were 35-32 and in second place in the NL West – when he went down with a fractured rib after diving for a ball in the infield June 13. Fowler joined Tulowitzki on the disabled list two weeks later with a wrist injury and the Rockies lost 16 of 25 to fall four games below .500 until getting them both back in the lineup a day after left they San Diego.

Maybe it’s not quite the same as trading for an arm the way the Dodgers have, but veteran Todd Helton knows the two have been missed sorely after busting out of the gates as a somewhat of a surprise contender.

“Really, we’d like to add those guys and then be adding,” Helton said. “I think that just puts us at zero when we get those guys back – the team we expected to be coming out of spring training. We’re not a deep enough team to be playing short of our best players.”

The Rockies, of course, are never quite right when they don’t have Tulowitzki in the lineup, to say nothing of the production that Carlos Gonzalez puts up on a yearly basis.

Since 2008, Colorado has lost 155 of the 259 games they’ve played during Tulowitzkis’ four trips to the disabled list.

That’s a .402 baseball. With Tulowitzki on the active roster, that winning percentage jumps to .508 over that stretch.

So yeah, whatever O’Dowd does at the deadline, the Rockies can feel just a bit better about their prospects knowing that Tulowitzki and Fowler – who rank second and third on the team in WAR despite their time on the DL – are back in the fold.

“You try not to think too much about that,” Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa said of the Dodgers’ acquisition of Nolasco. “You just try to go out there and play hard and try to help this team. I think we’re going to have two guys back from the DL who are very important to us. They start playing and we’re going to be in a good position.”

Where’d that come from?

To say Yeonis Cespedes was a surprise as Robinson Cano’s replacement selection for the home run derby is an understatement.

Not only was Oakland’s outfielder not an All-Star, he was hitting just .225 and was sitting far outside the top 10 in the AL in homers with just 15.

Cespedes also hadn’t homered since June 21 and had just one extra-base hit in 79 plate appearances leading up to the home run derby, when he swatted 32 in the tournament to beat out the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

The derby may have a prolonged effect on Cespedes’ game, too. He missed an entire series in Anaheim over the weekend with left wrist soreness, which makes some sense after watching the 6-foot, 215-pound slugger swing so hard for so often last Monday.

Quote to note

Boston’s David Ortiz on reigning Triple Crown-winner Miguel Cabrera:

“What he does out there is absolutely sick,” Ortiz told The Boston Globe. “That man is amazing. I’ve never seen a hitter like that. I was around (Manny) Ramirez for years, and even he couldn’t do what Miggy does with the bat. That’s stuff you only dream about.”

Et cetera

Entering Monday’s games, the top four teams in the AL East – the Red Sox, Rays, Orioles and Yankees – were above .500 and the Blue Jays were only seven games below .500. With a strong second half from Toronto, the AL East can become just the third division to have every team finish at .500 or better – the 2005 NL East and the 1991 AL West, when the Minnesota Twins went on to win it all.

The Houston Astros could decide who wins the AL West title. The division’s top two teams, the A’s and the Rangers, both play the cellar-dwelling Astros 10 more times. Oakland is 9-0 against Houston, Texas is 7-2 against Houston and the Los Angeles Angels – a preseason pick to reach the World Series by some – is 6-7 against Houston. So that explains the AL West race to date.